Mon, 12 Jun 2006

Psychopharm Going 'Mainstream' In Schools?

Will the War on Some Drugs expand it's front lines? Will scholars be held to the same standards as athletes? Will Jeopardy require drug tests for contestants? Will the next big drug craze be the Odyssey instead of the Ecstasy? Will the next poet emeritus get busted for buying sonnet pills from a dealer named Willie the Shake? Stay tuned - there's a Brave New World right around the corner!

Back in the day, college was a place where a lot of kids tried recreational drugs. Now the world's more competitive, psychopharmaceuticals are better targeted, and millions of students are routinely using drugs to work better and longer. Stimulants developed for attention deficit and narcolepsy are giving mentally healthy students an edge like athletes get from steroids or human growth hormone. These psychotropics seem fairly safe, but should they be banned in the interest of fairness, perhaps with enforcement by urine tests before exams? Or do we tell our kids that, if they want to compete in this brave new world, they better find some Adderall and jack their brains up like their classmates'.

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